[10/17/11 - 11:58 AM]AMC's "The Walking Dead" Delivers the Strongest Telecast for Any Drama in Basic Cable History Against Key DemosAMC spins the numbers for Sunday, October 16.

[via press release from AMC]

AMC'S "THE WALKING DEAD" DELIVERS THE STRONGEST TELECAST FOR ANY DRAMA IN BASIC CABLE HISTORY AGAINST KEY DEMOS

SEASON TWO PREMIERE DELIVERS MORE ADULTS 18-49 AND ADULTS 25-54 THAN ANY OTHER BASIC CABLE DRAMA IN TELEVISION HISTORY

4.8 MILLION VIEWERS ADULTS 18-49

4.2 MILLION VIEWERS ADULTS 25-54

7.3 MILLION TOTAL VIEWERS

11 MILLION TOTAL VIEWERS FOR THE NIGHT

New York - October 17, 2011 - Last night's season two premiere of AMC's original series, "The Walking Dead" delivered the strongest telecast for any drama in basic cable history. The season two premiere delivered 4.8 million Adults 18-49 and 4.2 million Adults 25-54 shattering a basic cable record set nearly 10 years ago for a single drama telecast. The program delivered a 4.8 HH rating netting 7.3 million total viewers. These results represent a 36% and 38% increase respectively over season one's series average on AMC. Season one's series average delivered the most A18-49 viewers for a drama in basic cable history.

Key Nielsen Highlights for the season two premiere of The Walking Dead:

· 9pm airing - 4.8 HH rating with 7.3 million viewers a 36%/38%

increase respectively over last year's season average

· 9pm airing - Adults 18-49 delivered 4.8 million viewers; a 36%

increase over last year's season average

· 9pm airing - Adults 25-54 delivered 4.2 million viewers; a 35%

increase over last year's average.

· 9 pm, 10:30pm and 12:30am airings - cumed to 11 million viewers

AMC's season one of "The Walking Dead" had a series average of

3.5 million Adults 18-49 making it then the most watched drama series in basic cable history for the demo. The season averaged 5.2 million total viewers.

"'The Walking Dead' is one of those rare television programs that reaches both a core genre fan as well as broad audiences simply looking for a great, character-based story. We're so proud of and grateful for the amazing team on both sides of the camera who works so hard and is so committed to making this a unique programming event," said Charlie Collier, AMC's president. "That 'The Walking Dead' is now the most watched drama in the history of basic cable is staggering, just like our zombies."

"The Walking Dead" secured a 2010 Golden Globe nomination for best television series and won the 2011 Emmy award for outstanding prosthetic make-up. The series tells the story of the months and years that follow after a zombie apocalypse. It follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, who travel in search of a safe and secure home. The comic goes on to explore the challenges of life in a world overrun by zombies who take a toll on the survivors, and sometimes the interpersonal conflicts present a greater danger to their continuing survival than the zombies that roam the country. Over time, the characters are changed by the constant exposure to death and some grow willing to do anything to survive.

"The Walking Dead" received rave reviews from countless critics, who heralded the series as "above all else, The Walking Dead hasn't lost the most important ingredient in its strangely successful recipe:
it's thrilling" (The Hollywood Reporter), "...with Dead's riveting cast of characters, the personal dynamics are almost as potent as the gory thrills. Almost (US Weekly), "...good news to the gore hounds at
home: In its second season, 'The Walking Dead' remains the most suspenseful show on any TV network" (Boston Herald) "...six million zombiephiles watched the finale of the first season and those 6 million will not want to miss Sunday's opener, which is excellent and appropriately disgusting" (Newsday).

About AMC

AMC reigns as the only cable network in history to ever win the Emmy(R) Award for Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row, as well as the Golden Globe(R) Award for Best Television Series - Drama for three consecutive years. Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade or creating acclaimed original programming, the AMC experience is an uncompromising celebration of great stories. AMC's original stories include "Mad Men," "Breaking Bad," "The Walking Dead," "The Killing" and "Hell on Wheels." AMC further demonstrates its commitment to the art of storytelling with its slate of unscripted original series, as well as curated movie franchises like AMC's Can't Get Enough and AMC's Crazy About. Available in more than 97 million homes (Source: Nielsen Media Research), AMC is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc. and its sister networks include IFC, Sundance Channel and WE tv. AMC is available across all platforms, including on-air, online, on demand and mobile. AMC: Story Matters HereSM.